Virginia's Fifth District primary race not settled with 98% votes counted

With 98% of the votes counted and a difference of just a few hundred votes between the two candidates, Virginia's Fifth Congressional District primary race had not yet been called by the Associated Press as of 12:30 a.m., Wednesday morning.

State Sen. John McGuire led the incumbent Rep. Bob Good by 315 votes as the fiercely fought primary race inched toward a photo finish early Wednesday. It's close enough to trigger a state-funded recount, if Good requested one.

But there are still more ballots to count.

In a statement on X, Good said the hold up was caused by mail-in and provisional ballots.

"We implemented the best early voting operation that the Fifth District has ever seen, and we are still waiting for the results of mail-in ballots and provisional ballots," he wrote. "We are doing what we can to ensure we have teams of observers and legal counsel to ensure all the votes are properly counted in the coming days. No matter the outcome, you’ve shown the DC Swamp that you won’t back down from standing for what’s right. Keep the faith and don’t stop fighting now."

McGuire struck a tone of victory in a post on X, while conceding that the count was not yet over.

"Thank you to my family, thank you to everyone who helped out on this campaign, thank you to the people who endorsed and supported me, and thank you to Donald J. Trump for believing in me. There are still a few votes left to count, but it’s clear that all paths end with a victory," he wrote.

As of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, 62,425 ballots had been counted with 50.25% cast for McGuire and 49.75% cast for Good. Of those counted, 10,834 had been cast during early voting and 3,502 had been mailed absentee, according to the Virginia Board of Elections.

Though the winner of Tuesday's primary is expected to win the Congressional seat in November in the staunchly conservative Fifth District, he will face Gloria Witt, the Democratic challenger who won her primary on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Good v McGuire primary race not settled as of midnight